marginal utility

noun

, Economics.

1. the extra utility or satisfaction derived by a consumer from the consumption of the last unit of a commodity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of marginal utility¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

And it has a marginal utility curve that only helps you so much.

From The Verge

While the dispassionate, what-happened-yesterday, inverted-pyramid daily news story still has some marginal utility, it is mostly a throwback at this point — a relic of a daily product delivered on paper to a geographically limited community.

From Salon

One example of this is marginal utility, a basic building block of modern economics that assumes all value derives from the wants of consumers.

From New York Times

Are we reaching diminished marginal utility in many of these areas?

From Washington Post

As a rule, if you’re looking to clear a room, you start talking about either the NHL or the law of diminished marginal utility.

From Washington Post